Last of the Old Legends
by Former Crimson King
Summary: As a universe is destroyed by an all powerful force, two warriors of opposite beliefs seek a way to survive.


**Rage.**

The unrelenting force of rage and anger tormented the cloaked figure. The man's tattered cape fluttered behind him. Under the cape were clothing decorated with various jewelry and symbols, signifying great power. The man was tall, standing almost two meters in height. His long black hair was tied back, so the piercing gaze of his gray eyes could stand alert at all times. He walked silently through the long deserted halls of a great temple, built by his loyal subjects. Life once flourished in these extravagant halls, life of a powerful and people. They were the finest soldiers and the most loyal followers of the shadowy lord.

Now the crumbling halls held nothing but dust and ruin. The walls had fallen into disrepair due to decades of neglect, the symbols and patterns they held all but gone. Vines from the jungle invaded through cracks formed from erosion. The people who once inhabited the temple were long dead, their bones turned to dust. They had died serving their lord, protecting him from an overwhelming enemy. The only thing that remained of them were these abandoned temples, constructed to show their devotion to their master.

Their sacrifice was not in vain, for their lord still lived. He had succeeded in evading his enemy's wrath as they laid waste to the great temples. But though he survived, it had cost him dearly. His once proud empire existed no more, and his overwhelming power was but a shadow of its former might, and his subordinates either all killed or exiled. All the work he had put into his empire was now wasted, the only trace left of his empire was in biased history texts. The former lord had hoped to preserve his own life to one day return and rebuild his empire, but now that was almost an impossibility.

As he paced through the halls, the man felt a strange presence emerge nearby. It was similar to the once that burned his empire, yet was different enough for him to not immediately attack. Curiosity enthralling him, the man approached the intruder. Quickening his speed, the man turned a corner and laid eyes upon the one that had dare enter his temple. The intruder was a woman dressed similar to his enemy. Striking blue eyes stared back at him from under medium length brown hair. The man wasn't fooled. Even dressed only in a simple tunic and robe, the woman held power.

"You must know who I am. Tell me, why have you come to this forgotten place?" The man asked the intruder.

"If you had even a bit of your strength, you know what has happened." The woman replied, matching his tone. She was clearly used to speaking to powerful warriors.

Frowning at the woman, the man accessed his dormant powers and looked past the walls of the temple out towards the world.

And revolted in disgust.

A great monstrosity dominated his vision. The abomination moved across the stars, devouring and destroying, not caring what stood in its way. It was not just the stars, but time as well. Futures where he would rule once again disappeared, blotted out by the horror before him. Futures where he would fall to upstarts were equally destroyed. Great powers that would dominate the world ceased to exist before they even had a chance to flourish. Powerful lords of the past vanished along with their kingdoms. It was as if all of time and space was being unraveled. The man stood dumbfounded. Not even the strongest sorcerers could accomplish such a feat. Yet the world was now being snuffed out casually by this creature.

Seeing that the man now knew of the threat, the woman spoke. "Now that you're caught up, I need your help"

Breaking free from his gaze, the man turned to the woman and replied. "Help with what? Fighting that thing? In case you haven't seen, I'm quite limited in power"

The woman shook her head. "There is no fighting that At least not now. I need your help in escaping. I know a way, but it requires two people"

"And the first person your rushed to for aid is me" the man scoffed.

"No, but no one else would help. Only you clung to life so tightly you reduced yourself to this state just so you could live" The woman explained.

The man knew he should feel insulted, but he also knew the woman spoke truth. He had fought tooth and nail, had sacrificed everything to survive for so long. Even centuries after his defeat, he still lived, even if he was reduced to a mere shell of what he once was. His final plan, and it left him too weak to even leave his temples. And invisible power had bound him here. He his only hope of escaping from the abomination was with this woman's help.

Thinking of no objections, he reluctantly agreed. "Fine, if it means having the chance to live through this, I'll help. Just tell me what needs to be done."

Nodding, the woman started laying out the plan. It was a complex one, with an almost certainty of failure. The hooded man listened, never interrupting. When the woman finished, The man pondered the plan. It was well detailed and in theory, could work. However, it required a massive amount of power and concentration. Even at the height of his power, he would not have taken the risk. Failure would mean almost certain death. But not following the plan was certain death. In the end, there really wasn't a choice if they wanted to survive the oncoming destruction.

"Very well. Let's begin, and may fortune smile on us."

The two stepped back and began casting the spells that would grant them freedom. Or the man's freedom at any rate. He would follow the plan that far, but for the rest of it he would have no part of it. Let the woman fight for this doomed world. This was his chance to escape from his fate, no matter how unlikely it would happen.

Power began to stir. The air between the two crackled with energy as they focused, channeling all their might into that spot. Alone, they would not be able to succeed, but together, the two were able to reinforce each others energy and strengthen it as they crafted their salvation. Though immense, the man could tell it was not enough energy. He was weakened, and the woman apparently so was the woman. Thinking quickly, he expanded his mind to the temple surrounding him. The temples, designed to focus energy, allowed the man to increase his power many times over, granting him just enough power to complete the ritual. Unleashing their stored powers, the two fired bolts of energy into the space between them.

The result was what they had hoped for. Dark clouds formed as lightning lashed out. In the middle of the lightning and clouds was an unstable sphere around three meters in diameter. Had their only goal, the pair could have easily made the sphere much bigger. However, they required incredible concentration, so even maintaining the sphere was no easy task. Energy rippled out from the sphere, threatening to destabilize and collapse on itself. The two began to enact the next step of their plan. Focusing on the sphere, they channeled their energy into one single spot of the sphere, creating a rift.

They only had that split second to make their move before the rift cause their entire ritual to become unstable and destroy them. Quickly, the two rushed at the rift. Diving in, they made it just as the sphere collapse, sending energy rippling out, tearing apart the walls of the temple. Bolts of energy also shot inward, striking the two as they passed through the rift completely, leaving burns on where the bolts touched them. The rift closed behind them, sending the two warriors tumbling through complete darkness. They flailed their limbs, trying to gain a sense of balanced, but failed as they continued to fall. All around them, their ears were assaulted by loud noises that were completely foreign to them. Before they could make sense of what the noise was, there was a loud flash, followed by the sound of an explosion. The darkness receded, banished by the flash of light. In its place was a dark road. To either side were tall trees, indicating a forest. A single moon shined down overhead. To their immediate right was a badly burned green sign, with an unknown language written across it.

The man stood slowly, badly burned by the bolts of energy that stuck him. They had succeeded, but were now in a new world with all their powers depleted. Whatever came next, they would need to depend on discretion.


End file.
